


hated in the nation

by orphan_account



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, Class Differences, Developing Friendships, Dystopia, Enemies to Lovers, Falling In Love, Family Dynamics, First Kiss, First Love, Friendship, Hunger Games, M/M, Minor Red Velvet, Original Character(s), Sibling Bonding, Societal Differences, minor park jisung/lee donghyuck, very minor krystal f(x)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:02:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21638551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Renjun gave Jeno thoughts and wants of things he'd never dreamed of, things that he knew could never be possible.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno
Comments: 22
Kudos: 118
Collections: ’00 FIC FEST: ROUND ONE





	hated in the nation

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this fic is from prompt #0047! to the prompter, if youre reading this, i ///truly/// hope i wrote to your expectations and that youre happy with this because i know i am!!
> 
> happy reading !! <3

People fluttered all around Jeno, stylists and his escort bustling in efforts to fix him up for the first revealing after he volunteered. During The Chariot Ride, to be specific. He and his counterpart, Joohyun, were dressed in every gold material their stylists could find. Joohyun was wearing a long, gold dress that shimmered like water droplets and diamonds. Her blonde hair was up in some odd headpiece, one that branched out like gold twigs and made it look like she had a halo when the sun hit her. Jeno was dressed in tight (too tight) shimmering gold pants and no shirt. He had gold paint ringed around his biceps and oil brushed across his chest.

“We want sponsors to think you’re attractive, darling! And none of this doe-eyed look, all glares and fierce looks, yes?” his stylist had said. 

Jeno just nodded and looked over at Joohyun, making eye contact, and she snorted at the sight of him, quickly being scolded by her own stylists who were still fixing her dress.

Jeno took a good look around the room, eyeing the rest of the Tributes. He spotted some of the other careers in the swarm of tributes and stylists, but paid no attention to them. They were savages, no need to speak to them. The poorer districts had some good looking tributes this year, Jeno hoped one of them won. 

“Who do you think will win this year?” Joohyun was by his side now, her hand brushing against his own, but never fully touching.  _ No signs of weakness, including attachment. _ Jeno eyed the crowd one more time, eyes landing on the District Eight tributes. If he recalled correctly, their names were Donghyuck and Seulgi, but he wasn’t too sure.

“District Eight. They’re strong,” Jeno replied. Joohyun nodded beside him, Jeno knew because he could hear her headpiece twinkling.

“I heard they’re brother and sister. He volunteered when she got picked.” Jeno winced and took back what he said, he hoped neither of them won. He hoped they both died together.

“Should we try to make alliances?” Joohyun muttered to Jeno, who didn’t look up from the knife he was sharpening. He considered her words as he slid his knife across the steel, over and over and over.

“Who were you thinking?” Jeno whispered back. Joohyun shifted beside him, reaching out to the weapon rack to grab a spear and inspect it.

“District Eight and Nine. They’re close, I think we can get Eleven in on it too.” 

District Eight was the sibling trope, Nine were random╼strangers forced to be partners due to their position. Eleven, though, Jeno didn’t know about them. His eyes shifted up towards Joohyun for a second before flitting back down.

“Is it smart for us to be seen talking or making alliances with non-careers?” 

Joohyun sighed and her mood dimmed, but he knew she understood that he brought up a good point.

“They seem really genuine and nice, Jeno. I just… I don’t want our last moments to be with some fuckhead, asshole careers that would kill us at any second.” She paused for a second, taking in a big breath and letting it out seconds later. “But… maybe we should be by ourselves.” She placed her hand on Jeno’s arm, letting go in a split second. It was just barely there, but it was there, and his eyes water. “I’d die by your side, Jeno. We’re in this together.” She stopped again, voice weak and sad. “I love you, Jeno. If you want to fight this out alone we can.” 

Jeno’s hand clenched the base of his knife so tightly that he thought it would cramp up. He blinked back the tears that threatened to fall╼no weaknesses╼and stood. Joohyun stared at him with so much emotion that it kicked down the last of Jeno’s resolve.

“We aren’t dying alone in that goddamn arena. Let’s go.” Jeno could tell Joohyun was happy to hear that; if they’d been alone she would’ve leapt into his arms. Instead, She blinked, gave him a reserved smile, and walked towards the group of four tributes; Jeno followed.

Districts Eight and Nine were conversing, sitting huddled together in the wilderness area. Two boys and a girl were gathered around the District Nine tribute╼Jeno hasn’t had much time to learn their names properly, but if he remembers correctly, her name is Soojung. They were speaking amongst themselves when he and Joohyun approach. Jeno could hear the standing three asking questions to the girl crouched on the ground, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“Hi, I’m Joohyun, and this is Jeno.” They jumped and whipped their heads toward the newcomers, sneers clear as day on their faces when they saw that two careers have approached them.

None of them talked until the District Eight boy sneered at them, “What the hell do  _ you _ want?” His counterpart, smacked him arm, muttering about being rude.

Joohyun looked warily at Jeno before crouching down beside the District Nine girl.

“That’s Foxglove, right?” Joohyun spoke, and the other girl looked surprised, but nods. “Back home I studied a lot of flowers. I love flowers, but… I’m a career, I should know which ones can kill me, don’t you think?” 

The District Nine boy, who’d been silent till now, snorts in laughter and his counterpart joins in.

“That’s true,” the District Nine girl spoke. My mom was a medic, she taught me all about healing herbs and flowers. And the ones that can kill.” She then reached her hand out towards Joohyun. “I’m Soojung, District Nine. This is Jaemin, he’s from my district too.” Jaemin waved, a bright smile on his face, and Jeno wondered how the fuck he managed to look so damn happy at a time like this.

“I’m Seulgi,” the District Eight girl spoke, nudging her counterpart to introduce himself too.

“Donghyuck,” is all the other boy said, but that was fine. If Jeno was in his position he wouldn’t trust a career either.

“Can you guys fight?” Soojung asked Joohyun and Jeno, to which they nodded. Soojung jumped up to her feet and pulled Joohyun up as well. “Help us train today and we’ll help you guys tomorrow. None of us are really fighters so we could learn some tips.” 

Joohyun nodded and followed Soojung out of the wilderness area, heading towards the weapons rack. Joohyun turned to Jeno and nodded towards somewhere behind him. “Go talk to Eleven. Get them to come over here?” 

Jeno made a face, but nodded, turning and locating the tributes with patches stating their district was Eleven. He approached the two, a boy and a younger looking girl. 

Jeno was about to introduce himself when the boy muttered, “I fucking hate these games.” Jeno snorted and their heads tilted up to look at him.

“Me too,” Jeno replied. The District Eleven boy raised his head and scoffed when he saw Jeno, a  _ career, _ in front of him.

“Oh, I’m  _ sure _ you do,” the boy sneered, “Which part do you hate? The part where you’re raised with a silver spoon in your mouth or the part where you kill poverty stricken kids that don’t stand a chance against a  _ career?” _ Jeno blinked down at him and remained silent, at a loss for words.

The other boy scoffed and looked back to his fellow district tribute, whispering to her like Jeno wasn’t there. Jeno frowned, looking back to Joohyun and the others. She was assisting the snappy boy, Donghyuck, in aiming his arrows. By the looks of the target, he didn’t need much help.

Jeno looked back at District Eleven and tapped the boy’s shoulder again. He looked up slowly, eyes dark and angry, he could’ve glared holes into Jeno.

“My name is Jeno.” Jeno pointed behind him towards Joohyun and the other four tributes. “The six of us were planning on teaming up? For an alliance. That’s Eight and Nine with my fellow tribute, Joohyun. We would really like to have you.” Jeno glanced at the younger girl beside the boy; she was staring at him with wary, cautious eyes. Jeno tried to smile warmly at the two, but there was no reaction. He nodded awkwardly and jogged back to the others.

“Any luck?” Joohyun asked, looking up from where she was sharpening a spear with the help of Seulgi, who smiled at Jeno, crooked and cute.

“I’ve got one hell of a throw,” she said. Jeno laughed softly, then looked back to Joohyun.

“Not really, they both hate us╼careers.” Joohyun’s lips flattened and she heaved a frustrated sigh. Jeno nodded, equally disappointed. He walked to the weapons rack, a matching set of serrated swords, where he grabbed them off of the rack and felt their weight, swinging and twisting them between his fingers.  _ Weapons of choice, _ he thought.

“So, Jeno, we’ve heard lots and lots about you!” Jeno smiled charismatically and nodded along with the host. “We’ve heard that you weren’t supposed to volunteer this year╼you’re only sixteen, correct?”

“That’s right. I’ve always been fascinated with the games and I’m ready to participate. I’m going to make my District proud.” What a lie╼even if he was the victor he would kill himself before going back home to be… pranced around like that by the Capitol. Nevertheless, he kept on a charming smile and talked animatedly to the host and the crowd.

“Now, Jeno… you’re quite a catch, if I do say so myself,” the host commented, laughing and encouraging the crowd when they began clapping and cheering. Jeno smiled, not knowing what else to do. Even if he was “quite the catch” these people are all sending him to his death so why the fuck does it matter. “Is there anyone back home? A girl?” Jeno faltered for a split second, but picked right back up. He knew how to please the crowd╼get possible sponsors to fall for him and support him during the Games. He didn’t like what he was doing, but support for him meant more to protect Joohyun and their alliance with.

“Honestly?” Jeno turned on the acting, amped up the emotions. He stared off in faux thought, then turned back to the host with a heartbreakingly sad smile. “No, there’s not… There used to be someone, but… she ended things before I volunteered. She said she couldn’t handle my dedication to the cause…” Jeno knew he’d chosen the right words when he heard the entirety of the crowd “aw” at him. He kept the act up, smiling sadly at the crowd. The host reached out and laid their hand atop Jeno’s, looking at him with such sympathy. Funny, because Capitol fuckers like this person are a big part of why he’s being sent to a death arena.

“Jeno… I think I speak for everyone watching when I say she’s missing out.” Jeno smiles gratefully and nods.

“She’ll realize what she’s missing when I’m the victor.” At that, the host laughed loudly and began clapping; the audience roared with support, applause, cheers. Jeno smiled and stood with the host as the crowd cheered.

“Jeno Lee from District Two, everyone!”

Jeno’s outfit was tight, just the way he’d asked his stylist to design it. His shirt was black and short-sleeved, better mobility for his arms since he used blades to fight, and she’d also given him a comfortable, insulated jacket for the nights╼also black. His pants were, no surprise, black. They were fitting, not constricting, and they hugged his legs perfectly. The cuffs of the ankles tucked into his boots; his stylist had given him sturdy, dark boots that were made for climbing and walking rugged territory. When he stepped into the launch pad, the glass closed behind him and he took deep breaths to calm his racing heart. It didn’t work. The clock ticked down second by second until it got down to three seconds, then two, then one; he started to ascend.

“Take care of her, Jeno!” he heard his stylist call behind him; she loved Joohyun, knew he did too. He would take care of her.

When Jeno’s launch pad finally rose to the arena, the sunlight caught him off guard, so he blinked against the sun and viewed his surroundings as quickly as he could. He looked to his left and his right╼someone from District Seven on the left and another career on his right. The career seemed to spot him, realizing that he was the biggest threat around him. Jeno eyed the Cornucopia, scanning for the best course of action. The clock began ticking down, starting at thirty seconds╼that was alarming, they usually had fifty. Jeno’s heart rate sped up even more and he had the overwhelming urge to throw himself off of the launch pad to kill himself before this madness started. 

Jeno’s eyes caught a pile of items in the Cornucopia: two swords ╼ not serrated like he liked, but still a weapon ╼ leaning up against a black bag. A few feet away from the swords, he spotted another bag with a bow and arrows leaning up against it╼it made him think of Donghyuck. 

Jeno scanned the area again, looking around for any of his allies, and luckily, three pads away, he spotted Donghyuck. He could tell the boy was seeing the same bow and arrow Jeno had spotted. He was going to run for the Cornucopia too.

Ten seconds. Jeno focused on the arena for the first time╼it was a lost city, almost. Broken, partially torn down skyscrapers and other buildings surrounded them. Rubble scattered at their feet, broken bits of concrete and metal all around.

Five seconds. Jeno tried to look for the others. He spotted Donghyuck’s sister far away from him, she was on the last pad he could see before the rest disappeared from his vision. He couldn’t see anyone else, which meant Seulgi, the District Nine tributes and Joohyun were on that side. Joohyun would go with them, Jeno had to stay close to Donghyuck.

Two seconds. Jeno got in position to dash for the Cornucopia.

One second. He wasn’t afraid, he was born to do this. He was a career, born to die.

Jeno’s ears didn’t register the boom that meant the Games began, everything was silent save for the way he could hear his pounding heart. He was a fast runner, he was one of the first people to arrive at the Cornucopia. He reached the swords at the same time as a tribute from District Five; he was faster than her. As soon as Jeno had a grip on the sword, he swung. The blade sliced across the girl’s stomach to which she fell back. Jeno wasted no time stepping over her and shoving the sword face down into her chest, deep enough until he felt the tip of the blade hit the concrete beneath them. He pulled his sword from her and moved to take the bag, throwing the strap over his shoulder before grabbing the second sword.

He looked up, ears still deaf to the sound of weapons coming into contact with other weapons or with skin, to the sound of screams and people, children, dying. He just needed to find Donghyuck.

When he spotted the other boy, he was on top of another tribute, repeatedly piercing their chest with a dagger. Jeno ran to him, pulling him off of the dead tribute and shoving him towards the bow. Donghyuck got the message; he grabbed them while Jeno watched around them. 

A boy, who Jeno believed to be from Twelve, charged at Donghyuck so Jeno moved to shield him, swinging his swords. The other tribute neither slowed down nor did he have any weapons. When he got close enough, Jeno stepped forward and bared his shoulder, knocking the boy to the ground. Jeno landed his blade in the boy’s chest, into his heart, then quickly pulled it out. He felt tugging on his arm and turned to see Donghyuck, bag and arrows on his shoulder, bow in hand. Jeno gripped Donghyuck wrist, turned them from the bloodbath at the Cornucopia, and ran.

Jeno and Donghyuck ended up in the highest floor of one of the buildings that they could reach without potentially harming themselves. Jeno had made sure to look out for pods throughout the building, but hadn’t come across any. They’d opened their bags and found some basic supplies in Jeno’s, some rope, gasoline and matches. In Donghyuck’s, they’d opened it to reveal  _ food. _ Not much, three apples and a loaf of bread. There’d also been a water bottle, but much to their disappointment, it was empty.

“It’s okay,” Jeno said, inspecting the food. “It’s better than nothing. If it rains, we hold it out and catch water. If we find some sort of other water source here we can boil it and put it in there.” Donghyuck nodded and stared out to the arena. The floor they’d reached had a huge tear through the structure, the north wall was nearly completely gone. They couldn’t sleep here, but it was a helpful vantage point, especially with Donghyuck’s bow.

“Thank you,” Donghyuck whispered, still looking out. Jeno nodded silently, he suspects that Donghyuck thinks he wouldn’t have survived without Jeno.

“I saw Seulgi.” Donghyuck whips his head towards Jeno at that. “She was too far away, more than fifteen launches away from me. We were too far to the right to go for her or the others.” Donghyuck stared and Jeno saw his eyes shine. He blinked slowly, nodding.

“I didn’t see your partner on our side. Do you think she found Seulgi?” Jeno hated the hope in his voice. It made him sick to his stomach knowing that they were separated before it even began; they may never see each other again.

“Joohyun,” Jeno informed and Donghyuck nodded. “I’m not sure. She was closer to Seulgi than we were, she could’ve been right beside her, but I don’t know.” Donghyuck’s lips flattened and he nodded, dropping his head into his hands.

“I hate this shit. I fucking hate it.” Jeno’s voice mirrored their building; empty, devoid of anything other than broken pieces of himself.

The sun was going down, the sight of a warm, glowing sky eased their minds for the time being.. At least they got a nice view before they got slaughtered. “Sometimes I wish I hadn’t volunteered.” Donghyuck’s voice was a small whisper and Jeno stayed silent—he understood. Donghyuck rubbed his eyes and sniffed, looking back out. “But she’s my sister. Even if I never see her again… at least she wasn’t alone with a stranger before we got here. She was with me.” They stayed silent after that, both watching as the glowing sun slowly sank down below the horizon.

“I only volunteered this year for Joohyun. They wanted to save me for the Quarter Quell game in two years, when I would be eighteen.” Jeno smiled when he thought back to when Joohyun and him had been in private for the first time since they volunteered. She’d punched him so hard it had made his eye bruise and his stylist had to use a special type of cream to heal it. “Joohyun is two years older, she’s eighteen. We grew up together, you know? And when she got to the age when she wasn’t an impressionable, stupid kid, she told me that this was horrible. That it was disgusting, inhumane and that she would rather die than to see me die in or win this game.” Jeno’s eyes burned at the thought of her. He hoped she was safe and that she was with the others.

“Why’d you volunteer for her?” Donghyuck’s voice brought his attention back. Jeno sighed and ruffled his hair.

“She always said she didn’t want me to play in the Games, but what the fuck else could I do? I was  _ raised _ for this… My parents, the entire District would’ve killed me if I hadn’t volunteered before I was too old and I didn’t want Joohyun to be alone, to die alone.” Jeno stared as the sun finally disappeared into the horizon, engulfing them in darkness.  _ “I _ didn’t want to die alone,” Jeno confessed, looking over at Donghyuck with a small smile. Donghyuck snorted and shook his head.

“Go to the floor below us and start a fire.” Jeno tossed his bag to the boy, but he didn’t move. “Go, really. I’ll take first watch.” Jeno took his jacket off and tossed that too. “Don’t want you to die of hypothermia like a fucking idiot.” Donghyuck snorted again, standing and walking towards the stairs from which they came.

“Whatever. Like you’re one to talk,” he called over his shoulder. Jeno tried to hold back a smile, but it broke free and slid across his face. What a fucker to spend his last days with.

Jeno jerked out of his light sleep, bolting upright and backing into his sword.

“Jesus! It’s just me, you fucking moron!” Jeno blinked into the darkness, eyes squinting blearily in an attempt to focus on whom was kneeling in front of him.  _ Donghyuck. _ Right. He was in the arena, it was Donghyuck.

“What? Is something wrong?” Jeno’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness more so now, he could see a grim look on Donghyuck’s face. “What?”

“The cannons went off. Joohyun’s alive, so is Seulgi. Jaemin’s fellow tribute…” Donghyuck trailed off, but Jeno didn’t need more words to know. Jeno swallowed and nodded.

“Okay… What time is it?” Donghyuck dropped to a sitting position with his knees bent up, arms resting atop them.

“Not sure. You went to sleep like six hours after sundown and it’s been about five more hours… Maybe close to seven, give or take.” Jeno nodded and stood, rubbing his eyes.

“Let’s go look for water. We can look around for the others, too.” Donghyuck nodded and followed Jeno down the stairs. When they reached the entrance to the building, they scouted outside thoroughly before actually stepping out and beginning their trek for water. Donghyuck had his bow out with an arrow position in it, ready to pull and aim if need be. Jeno had his swords out, also, and he walked behind Donghyuck because he was a better tracker than 

Jeno was. Jeno made sure to leave markings every so often across the rubble with his sword. After almost an hour of walking, the sun was risen enough that the ground was splattered with gold rays. Something about the warmth of the morning made Jeno sick╼he wanted to be home.

“Can I ask you something?” Donghyuck had fallen back a few steps without Jeno realizing, making him closer to Jeno. 

“Sure.”

Donghyuck took his eyes away from surveying the area around them for a second to glance at Jeno. “You said in your interviews that you have someone back home. Do you really?” Jeno had completely forgotten about that, mostly because no, he didn’t really. He informed Donghyuck that it was a lie. Jeno watched as the other boy’s shoulders sank a bit, his demeanor had changed.

“Do y╼” Jeno was cut off by a scream ringing out through the air. 

Jeno froze, swords coming up in preparation to attack while Donghyuck pulled his arrow back, aiming towards the direction of the sound. They both stood, silent, waiting and watching. They’d wandered into an area where it wasn’t as… city-like. It was like they’d traveled from the outskirts of the city into a more rural area, more forest-like. 

The sound had come from behind the tree line and as the two boys listened, they began to hear heavy, fast footsteps. Jeno looked around╼there wasn’t much to hide in, just a few trees surrounding them. Jeno shoved Donghyuck to the left, pointing to the tree. Donghyuck sprinted behind the tree and Jeno sprinted to one on his right. Jeno’s heart was racing, he closed his eyes to calm himself.

When Jeno opened his eyes, he looked towards Donghyuck. The boy was staring at him with wide eyes, arrow relaxed, but still in an attack position. If he needed to use it, he was ready.

The footsteps neared closer and closer until Jeno could hear laughing and screaming, taunting.  _ Fucking careers. _ When the person in the front of the running group broke through the tree line, they were followed by others.

“Where do you think you can go, little girl?” Jeno recognized the voice of the career, he was from District One╼Chenle╼and Jeno had heard much about him.

“Stay  _ away _ from her!” Jeno stiffened at that voice╼that was the District Eleven boy’s voice, the one he’d tried to talk to during training. Jeno heard more screams, more laughing.

Against Jeno’s better judgement, he leaned slightly from behind the tree to view what was happening. He saw the District One career standing over the young District Eleven girl, his axe pointing at her. The girl’s brother, the District Eleven boy, was being held back by the three remaining careers. He was struggling to fight them, but he was no match; three careers against one tribute isn’t a fight many could win.

“Did you really think your kid sister would survive here?” Chenle said it in such a mocking voice, amusement tainting his words. Jeno watched as her brother struggled his hardest to free himself and protect his sister.

Jeno looked away, resting back against the tree. He looked towards Donghyuck and saw pure terror masked by fury on his face. Donghyuck nodded his head towards them. He wanted to attack. As much as Jeno knew this was probably a bad fucking idea, he nodded.

Jeno held up his hand, signalling Donghyuck to wait. Jeno peaked around, waited until Chenle’s back was to them, then nodded towards Donghyuck.

Donghyuck and Jeno stepped out at the same time, but took different directions. Jeno bolted from behind the tree he hid behind and, as quietly as he could, made his way behind the remaining surrounding trees, trying to get behind the careers holding the other boy back. Donghyuck moved fast, he stepped out, faced them, pulled his arrow back and shot. Jeno watched the arrow sink into one of the career’s chests. They were so shocked that the District Eleven boy took his opportunity to break free. The careers jumped into action, chasing after the boy, but Donghyuck landed another arrow into one of their arms.

“What the  _ fuck?!” _ Chenle swung his axe and hid from Donghyuck behind a tree. The remaining career, Chenle’s counterpart, now had the District Eleven boy on the ground, but the boy was putting up quite a fight. Jeno jumped into action, making a dash towards the two. He kicked the career in the stomach, knocking her off of the other boy. He went to attack her with his weapons, but she swiped Jeno’s legs out from under him. Jeno landed on his back and a split second later, she was on top of him and had her fist reared back to hit him. She got in two good hits before Jeno reached behind her and sliced into her back. She swore and Jeno threw her off, getting up to his feet at the same time as her. She smiled menacingly and Jeno smiled back╼he was going to kill the bitch.

At some point after Jeno has thrown her off, she’d retrieved her weapon╼a club spiked with sharp pieces of metal. One hit with that would fuck Jeno up, so he acted on defense as she began swinging at him. One thing he knew about careers was that when they think they’re going to win, they’re bloodthirsty; they make small mistakes because they’re so blinded by their desire to kill. All Jeno had to do was dodge and block a few attacks before he found his opportunity.

She swung a little too hard and ended up stumbling. Jeno kicked her down and she fell with a grunt, her weapon falling out of her hands. Jeno kicked her once, twice while she was down and stabbed her below her ribs with one of his swords. She screamed, but Jeno kicked her onto her back and landed one more solid stab into her heart. She tried to scream, but choked on it, and her body fell, lifeless.

Jeno panted heavily, pulling his weapons from her body and quickly looked around for any more signs of a threat. The two careers Donghyuck had shot were on the ground, one unmoving and one groaning. A few feet away, Donghyuck stood in front of the District Eleven tributes, arrow still pulled back and pointed towards the remaining career.

“How many cannons?” Jeno shouted.

“Two.” Which meant the one groaning was the only one alive. Jeno walked over, put his foot down on the remaining careers chest and raised his sword.

“Traitor,” she spit, blood spilling from her mouth. Jeno dropped the sword down.

Another cannon sounded.

Jeno tilted his head back, resting in the sunlight for a minute before coming back to reality. He retrieved his sword from the body and walked back to the other three. The two others were locked into an embrace, the younger girl was clinging onto her brother.

“Where did the leader go? Chenle?” Jeno whispered. 

“I don’t fucking know. He hid behind the tree from me, but once you attacked, I had my bow trained on you. He must’ve slipped away. I’m sorry.” Donghyuck sounded mad and frustrated with himself and one look at his face told Jeno that he was.

“It’s okay. We’ll find him.” Donghyuck nodded, face still pinched with his emotions..

“He’s smart, resourceful,  _ dangerous.” _ Jeno looked at him and found Donghyuck staring back. They didn’t need to say anything╼this was the first real dance with death. They could’ve both died and in the end, one of them will.

It took some convincing, mostly on Donghyuck’s side because he was in a lower district and, well, wasn’t a career like Jeno, but the other two tributes came with them. They decided that they’d still attempt to find water before going back to the building they were residing in, but only for a little while longer. The two looked exhausted. Even with the four of them searching, they weren’t able to find a water source, so they decided to head back together. Donghyuck walked side by side with the boy, but Jeno found himself trailing behind them, feeling a bit out of place. How stupid was that.

“Are you okay?” Jeno blinked, looking down to the little girl. She was now walking beside him, glancing up at him. Jeno smiled at her and nodded. She beamed and held her hand out to him, so Jeno put one of his swords away and grasped her hand. She seemed content with just that, but Jeno made sure to go out of his way to swing their arms dramatically and lift her over bigger pieces of rubble; he smiled every time he got a smile out of the young girl. She was twelve years old, Jeno thinks, but she had such a youthful and childlike heart. It was heartwarming.

He caught her brother looking at them, mostly at him, bewildered. Jeno knew it was because he thought he would be a savage like most careers. Maybe this would make him trust Jeno more.

“What’s your name?” the little one asked.

“Jeno,” he replied, smiling. She smiled so wide that Jeno thought his heart would melt.

“I’m Zhen!” 

“That’s a very pretty name for a very pretty girl,” Jeno said with a wide smile, making her giggle.

“Renjun.” Jeno looked up, finding her brother watching him. He glanced down at his sister and smiled, making Jeno’s heart melt a little more. That was the first time he’d really addressed Jeno, it made Jeno’s stomach fill with butterflies. Jeno smiled, wider than anyone else would’ve, and he felt his heart  _ race _ when Renjun smiled back.

It was quiet the entire way back and for a long time after they arrived. Jeno took the first watch while Donghyuck, Renjun and Zhen slept. Jeno’s head rested on the wall beside him, acutely aware of the sleeping bodies next to him╼Zhen had wanted to stay next to him and Renjun wanted to stay next to her, so they’d all ended up sleeping in the same room.

A cannon sounded, making Jeno jerk in surprise. He sat up, more alert than before. Minutes later, another cannon sounded and Jeno felt the odd sense of sickness overcome him, but he tried to ignore it as he listened for anymore cannons. After about ten minutes, he relaxed, but barely a minute after he did, another cannon sounded. Jeno stared into the arena, heart heavy with… he didn’t know, really. The thought of just jumping out of the window was appealing, but he let it drift out of his mind when he remembered the three sleeping bodies next to him.

Donghyuck woke up first, which wasn’t surprising knowing Renjun and Zhen looked like they hadn’t slept since they’d been here.

“Anything?”

Jeno shook his head. “No, just cannons. Three.” Donghyuck nodded, sitting across from Jeno. He was quite illuminated in the moonlight coming through from the gaping hole in the wall.

“Earlier today,” Jeno started, still staring out into the sky, “when you asked me if I really had someone back home; why did you?” 

“Because I do. Have someone back home, I mean…” Jeno felt sick. “His name is Jisung and I╼” Jeno didn’t look at Donghyuck when he heard to other boy choke up. “I miss him a lot. He was so fucking mad at me when I volunteered. He started screaming while they took me away, he even tried to break through the Peacekeepers.” Donghyuck laughed, but Jeno could hear the tears. “It’s fucking ironic seeing as how he’s a lanky, six foot idiot. He hit me when he saw me before I left, smacked me and hit me until he was too tired out to do more. Then I just… held him in my arms before they dragged me away…” Jeno finally looked to Donghyuck; the moonlight made the tear stains on his eyes shine. “The last thing he said to me was, ‘Don’t die.’ What a fucking idiot.”

They sat in silence, both looking out to the moon and thinking of their loved ones. A few minutes later, the fallen tribute song began to play as the icon shown in the sky. They watched as the tributes played by, starting with the three they’d slaughtered earlier.

Then Jaemin’s face appeared in the air. Jeno jerked upright, sword clattering to the floor as he watched the portrait of Jaemin change to one of a girl from District Seven.

_ No, no, no… _ Jeno’s heart raced so fast it could’ve powered a chariot.

_ Please, God, no. _

Jeno’s heart sank. He felt as if ice had been doused over his entire body and soaked into his organs. His heart was no longer racing, in fact it wasn’t even beating anymore. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t fucking breathe. His world collapsed.

In the sky, Joohyun’s face shone in the moonlight. The last of the day’s fallen.

Jeno didn’t know how long he stared out into the now empty space where Joohyun’s face was once illuminated. He felt his eyes water and felt anger well up within him. He knew this would happen, that there was barely a 4% chance she would make it out of this alive, but he had hoped she would like a naive fucking child. Of course she had died╼and of course Jeno hadn’t been there with her as he had intended.

“Jeno?” Donghyuck’s voice felt foreign to Jeno’s ears and it nearly made him snap, lash out on the people he could find closest to him.

Instead, Jeno looked towards the other boy, surveyed the emotions playing across his face, in his eyes. It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair that a bunch of kids were sent to an extravagant fight to their deaths╼that there were family members here together, best friends, that had to watch each other die from a distance.

Jeno sank back into his previous position on the floor, against the wall. He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn’t find the words. All he could think about was how he was powerless to this, he wanted so badly to protect the people in this room, even if he’d known them for such a short time; they didn’t deserve to die, especially not like this. It was revolting to think that Jeno wouldn’t be able to save them, that he might have to watch them die or he’d die and leave them with one less ally.

Jeno’s eyes drifted to Zhen; she was sleeping so peacefully, eyelashes fanned out over her round cheeks. She looked so innocent in this moment, Jeno would kill himself if it meant protecting such a warm presence in their world. But it didn’t work like that╼it  _ wouldn’t _ work like that.

“It’s so unfair,” Jeno whispered brokenly. “I hate it.” He didn’t say anything else, neither did Donghyuck. Somewhere in between watching how tightly Renjun held Zhen close to his body and recalling moments back home with Joohyun, Jeno fell asleep, and Donghyuck let him.

When Jeno awoke, the sun was shining so brightly that he wondered how he slept so long. He sat up, rubbing his bleary eyes.

“Hey.” Jeno’s head snapped up in surprise, but upon seeing Renjun he relaxed. He glanced around the room, not seeing the other two. “They’re a few floors below trying to start a fire. It’s getting kinda cold, even during the day.” Jeno shivered, body registering the chill in the air after Renjun said it. He looked down at his lap and realized the jacket he’d given to Donghyuck two nights ago had been laid out on his torso. Donghyuck must’ve put it over him after he’d fallen asleep; the thought pained his heart.

“How are you? I mean╼Donghyuck told me that your partner was… one of the fallen.” Jeno snorted at the phrasing, he thinks that Renjun was trying to sugarcoat it, but they both knew it wasn’t as simple as that.

“She wasn’t a partner, she was my best friend,” Jeno started, voice quiet, but stronger than it had been last night. “I thought if I volunteered this year with her, I’d be able to protect her…” Jeno trailed off, then scoffed and shook his head. “What a fucking idiot. No one wins this game, no one escapes it.” The two sat in silence, Jeno looking down at his jacket and fiddling with the zippers.

“When you first came to talk to me, during training, you were being serious, weren’t you?” Jeno smiled to himself, thinking about how many times Joohyun had told him that  _ normal _ people hated this game, and that Jeno was as normal as you could be in their environment.

“Yeah.” Jeno’s voice was but a whisper, nearly lost in the quiet sounds of the wind. “Joohyun raised me, really. She’s only two years older, but…” Jeno finally looked up to Renjun, smiling brokenly. “When I was younger, I said that I wanted to be the victor of one of the Games at a dinner with our families. After dinner, our parents sent us to train together and she╼” Jeno stopped abruptly, snorting a laugh into his hands. “She kicked me in the nuts. That shit hurt for so long.” Jeno was still laughing and Renjun smiled watching him. “She was a big sister, a parent. She took care of me and made me into the person who I am today. If it weren’t for her, I might’ve been the one attacking you yesterday.” Jeno still had a small smile playing across his lips; he thinks that it’s really fucked up how fast he “got over” Joohyun’s death. Got over wasn’t the right thing he wanted to say, but he just meant he wouldn’t be able to mourn her and he probably never would.

“Thank you.” Renjun’s voice was steady and strong. It wasn’t loud, but it wasn’t quiet, and it made Jeno feel calmer, he didn’t know why. “For yesterday… I know you didn’t have to do anything to help, let alone save us and take us back with you.”

“I told you, I hate these games.” Renjun stared at Jeno as if reaching into his soul to figure him out.

“You’re quite different, Jeno.” Renjun had a small smile playing on his lips and Jeno thought that he was really pretty like that.

Before either could say more, Jeno’s stomach rumbled and it made Jeno giggle, embarrassed. Though, he realized the stupid sound he’d let out when he looked up to see Renjun staring at him like he’d grown two heads. Renjun looked away and reached into one of the bags Jeno and Donghyuck had retrieved, pulling out an apple. He tossed the entire thing to Jeno with a warm smile. Jeno hesitated, he didn’t think he should eat the entire thing, but Renjun nodded to encourage him and Jeno caved, sinking his teeth into the fruit. Renjun watched Jeno silently╼he noticed that Jeno had a habit of scrunching up his nose for no apparent reason. He thought that was really cute.

“I like different,” Renjun muttered, catching both boys off guard. Jeno stared at Renjun with wide eyes and one cheek puffed up with a bite of apple. Renjun stared back until he couldn’t hold back a laugh, which turned into a full blown cackle. Jeno couldn’t help laughing along with Renjun, not when the smaller boy’s entire body was moving with his laugh. Jeno didn’t know why he was laughing so hard, neither did Renjun, but they couldn’t seem to stop. It got to the point where Renjun’s body was shaking, but he wasn’t letting out any noise and it just made Jeno laugh harder.

They calmed down, albeit after a good few minutes. When their laughter was gone, it was replaced with soft, warm, boyish smiles directed at each other.

“I wish I’d met you before this,” Jeno muttered. He didn’t know why he said that and he really didn’t know why it was the truth. He had no idea why he felt himself so drawn to Renjun’s presence, especially seeing as they’d  _ just _ met and really didn’t know each other. Maybe it was the fact that both of them knew they probably weren’t making it out of here alive and they just wanted to enjoy their last moments with someone who made them laugh, someone who had a nice smile. And Jeno really liked Renjun’s smile.

Renjun stood up and plopped down next to Jeno, punching him on the arm. Jeno giggled and held out his apple to Renjun. Jeno’s brain glitched when Renjun placed his palm on the back of Jeno’s hand to steady it so he could take a bite out of the apple. Renjun’s hand lingered, but eventually dropped down and Jeno retracted his own. Jeno sat still next to Renjun, only moving to eat more or give Renjun another bite; he remained still when Renjun rested his head on his shoulder and snuggled into his warmth.

“You’re warm,” Renjun muttered, wrapping his arms around Jeno’s bicep.

Jeno thought that was really ironic because Renjun made his entire body tingle with warmth.

That night, the fallen tributes played through the night air╼six more tributes died today, meaning eighteen in total had died. That left six people, the four of them, Seulgi and Chenle. The whereabouts of the other two were unknown to them, so they debated what their next move should be.

“Do you guys think we should stay here?” Renjun’s voice was quiet because behind them, Zhen was sound asleep. Jeno shook his head no.

“It’s way too risky, we pushed our luck staying here last night and yesterday, tonight is even worse. We didn’t see Chenle, he could know where we are.” Renjun nodded, but Donghyuck interjected.

“Don’t you think he would’ve attacked by now?” Jeno made a face and sighed, considering the scenario.

“It’s hard to predict. On one hand, yeah, it would be really easy to attack us, catch us off guard,” Jeno started and the other boys nodded along. “On the other hand, Chenle is a District One career╼he’s fucking smart, he won’t just kill to win, you know? This isn’t life or death to him, this is a game and he wants to give the biggest and best show to the people watching. I think we should move tonight, while it’s dark and snowing. It’ll be a lot harder for him to see us exit and we don’t know if we’ll get another chance like this.” Donghyuck and Renjun both nodded in agreement. One glance outside told Jeno their best chance was  _ now. _ The snow wasn’t light, but it wasn’t heavy, so it was less dangerous than it possibly could be. They stood, beginning to pack their things. It was probably seven hours after the sun had gone down, so it was in the very early hours of the morning, Jeno thinks. Maybe three or four.

“I want to go look for Seulgi.” Donghyuck’s voice sounded hesitant, or maybe upset. Jeno turned and looked at the younger boy; he was wringing his hands and his eyes were darting back and forth from Jeno to Renjun. “And I know that that’s worse than trying to find a needle in a haystack, but…” His eyes landed on Jeno and they softened with emotion. “I know how hard it was for you to not be with Joohyun and I just need to try to find her, at least.” Jeno frowned because he understood, but it made him feel sick to his stomach thinking that they’d have to separate. 

“I’m gonna go alone. I don’t want all of you coming and risking your lives for me and my sister, so I’m gonna go alone. I’m gonna go alone.” The last comment was more of a mantra he was saying to himself to convince himself he was going to do this. Jeno felt his heart splintering, but he nodded. He cleared his throat before speaking to Donghyuck.

“Okay. If she was with Joohyun, she would be somewhere more secluded than the ruins,” Jeno told him. “I don’t know if she would’ve stayed in the same area as Joohyun after she died, but that’s where Joohyun would’ve taken them. Out into the woods.” Donghyuck nodded, shouldering his bag and putting on a brave face. He moved to turn towards the stairs, but hesitated. After a moment of contemplation, he walked to Jeno and wrapped him in his arms. Jeno sank into Donghyuck’s arms, closing his eyes and squeezing him so tightly that he might get bruises.

“Thank you,” Donghyuck whispered to him. Jeno was unable to speak, so he just nodded and let Donghyuck clutch him tighter.

When they released each other, Donghyuck pushed Jeno’s shoulder, smiling crookedly the same as Jeno saw his sister do.

“Be careful. Don’t let  _ them _ win.” Jeno nodded and Donghyuck inhaled deeply, nodding to himself and walking towards the stairs. “Take care of this one, Renjun,” Donghyuck said with a smile. “He’s a catch.” With that, he was descending down the stairs without them.

“You okay?” Jeno had been so caught up in staring at where Donghyuck once stood, he didn’t realize the Renjun was standing beside him. Jeno bore holes into the broken cement once more, then turned to Renjun.

“Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine.” Jeno was acutely aware of Renjun’s hand resting on his shoulder╼he felt the warmth from it seeping through his clothes and into his skin. Jeno stared down at Renjun, letting his eyes trace over the details of Renjun’s skin. It was dark, but Jeno could still see the dip in his cupids bow, the shimmer of youth in his eyes. It broke his heart to think that he’ll never see it again once this is over.

“You’re really pretty,” Jeno whispered. Renjun’s eyes widened as his lips curled into a small smile.

“You aren’t so bad yourself,” Renjun teased, voice just as quiet. Jeno felt his hand drift up his neck and onto his jaw. His thumb swiped across the space on Jeno’s cheek between his cheekbone and jawline. “I wish I had met you before this, too,” Renjun said with a heartbreakingly sad smile. Jeno’s resolve broke, he bent down and connected his lips with Renjun’s.

Jeno didn’t know what first kisses were supposed to be like. He’d read books before that said first kisses made your heart race, which it was. He’d also read that your foot pops up when you have your first kiss, that you saw fireworks behind your eyelids as soon as your lips touched; Jeno didn’t feel any of that. The only thing Jeno felt was the overwhelming urge to  _ live. _ He kissed Renjun with passion mixed with anger╼anger that they didn’t meet before this. Anger that they both couldn’t make it out of this alive. Anger that even if he did live, he wouldn’t live another day with Renjun. 

Jeno didn’t know anything about being  _ in _ love. He’d loved only Joohyun for years, he thinks he came to love Donghyuck, even, but he’d never been in love. Maybe he was in love with Renjun, maybe he was just sticking to the only person he could in his last days on Earth. He did know, though, that Renjun made him want to escape this place and lead a normal life with him. But he couldn’t, they never could, so Jeno just focused on kissing Renjun as hard as he could. He poured his heart and his soul into Renjun’s mouth and gained the feeling of being loved in return.

“Renjun?” Jeno and Renjun broke apart quickly at the sound of Zhen. Renjun quickly went to her side and began speaking to her. Jeno blinked the post-kiss haze away and began packing again. His entire body felt warm, he felt like a million butterflies were fluttering in his stomach. He couldn’t wipe the stupid, dopey smile off of his face no matter how hard he tried. This was the happiest he had ever felt in his life. He didn’t know what being in love was like, but he hoped that everyone in love with someone else felt like he did right now.

Jeno waited by the stairs with the remainder of his things packed into his bag. He waited for Renjun to finish talking to Zhen, then watched as she got up and rubbed her eyes and yawned. Renjun slipped her jacket onto her arms and fluffed her hair before walking towards Jeno. Jeno did the same to Zhen, fluffed her hair which made her swat at his hands and mumble grumpily.

“You both ready?” Renjun nodded, as did Zhen. They hurried down the stairs as quickly and quietly as they could. 

When they reached the entrance, Jeno scouted it out as best he could. Jeno turned to Renjun and Zhen and looked at Zhen pointedly.

“You stay between your brother and I, okay? You don’t separate from more than one of us unless I tell you to, understood?” Zhen nodded, her face serious. Jeno wished he could’ve seen more of her childish side, it was disturbing to see her face looking so… grave. Jeno nodded and took one more look out of the entrance. He stepped out cautiously, avoiding the rubble and rocks as much as he could so he didn’t make much noise. Renjun and Zhen followed his lead through the ruins of the city. Zhen stuck to her word, remaining in between Renjun and Jeno at all times.

By sunrise, they’d passed the outskirts of the city╼opposite of the way they’d been when Jeno and Donghyuck had found them. The sun had been out for maybe an hour now, they had just entered the treeline and ventured further into the woods when Jeno heard the sound of running water. Working together, they found a source of water for the first time since the Games had started.

They had all dropped to their knees and scooped water into their hands, drinking as much as they could. Jeno broke off a larger piece of bread for Zhen and two smaller pieces for him and Renjun. Zhen had scooted herself into Jeno’s side and under his arm while she munched on her food, content as anyone could be in this setting. Jeno smiled down at her, then turned back to the water and watched as the sun glistened and reflected off of it.

Renjun stared at them, regarding them both with so much warmth in his eyes. Jeno made a good partner in this arena, and Renjun got the idea he would make a good partner out of here, or in any other setting he could possibly think of.

Nightfall arrived sooner than they’d hoped, but Jeno had been prepared nonetheless.

“Here, Zhen.” He draped his jacket atop her resting figure and she smiled up at him gratefully.

“Won’t you be cold, Jeno?” she inquired. Jeno smiled and patted her cheek.

“Nah, I’m warm blooded, didn’t you know that?” Jeno smiled when Zhen shook her head, confused. For once in his life, Jeno was happy that the lower districts got horrid education. “Well,” Jeno started, tucking his jacket under Zhen’s chin. “When you’re born, you have cold blood, it’s why you’re paler than me.” Zhen nodded, eyebrows furrowed as she took in this new information. Jeno held his arm up to her, showing her his tanned skin, and thanked God that the sun shined on the career districts. “When you turn sixteen, your blood becomes warm and your skin gets more tan because of it. Makes sense, doesn’t it?” Zhen nodded her head, and the action made a smile come to Jeno’s face. “Good. You’re a smart kid. Now go to sleep, you need beauty rest if you’re going to keep being the most beautiful girl in the world,” Jeno’s voice dipped to a stage whisper at the end of his sentence, as if telling her a secret, and Zhen giggled childishly.

Jeno brushed her hair back, staring at the features of her young face carefully. She was too pure for the world they were forced into.

“Goodnight, Zhen.” Jeno kissed her forehead and shot her one last smile before standing and walking towards the water bank, where Renjun sat. Jeno sat next to him, staring into the moon reflecting itself into the water; the water looked like it was filled with glitter.

“She’s a sweet kid,” Jeno murmured, head dropping down onto Renjun’s shoulder. He closed his eyes when he felt Renjun’s hand slide up his jaw and up to his cheek, where it rested. He felt Renjun lean his own head atop of Jeno’s and felt his shoulders heave with a sigh.

“She is.” Jeno reached up to hold Renjun’s wrist, turning his head into the hand to kiss his palm. “When she was younger, she used to ‘cook’ things with dirt and mud and leaves and sticks,” Renjun laughed. “She told me she wanted to be a cook when she grew up. I can’t believe that… On her first reaping╼” Renjun stopped abruptly, choking on his words. Jeno wishes he could understand what the other boy felt, but Joohyun was the only person he considered to be like family to him and he just didn’t think it was the same.

“Hey, Jeno?” Jeno was busy playing with Renjun’s fingers when he spoke, but he hummed in question. “If I die, please take care of her,” Renjun said, voice breaking. Jeno’s own fingers slowed as he processed Renjun’s words. As much as Jeno wanted to say that he would be so hurt, so… heartbroken if he had to witness Renjun’s death, he would be worse off if he’d let Zhen die also.

“No one wins this game,” Jeno whispered. “But one person lives, and I want it to be Zhen.” In a roundabout way, they both had just told each other that they wanted the other to die, but this wasn’t a normal everyday situation. If they lived, Zhen didn’t, and neither of them would allow that to happen if they could prevent it.

Renjun and Jeno sat in silence for the remainder of the night, only shifting to be more comfortable or to share a small kiss. Renjun eventually fell asleep, but Jeno stayed awake and tried to be as alert as he could. In the late hours of the night, Jeno found himself dozing off slightly, only to be awakened by a slow, yet repetitive, beeping. Jeno blinked away the sleep from his eyes, looking around to find the source of the sound╼he knew that sound.

Jeno separated himself from Renjun as gently as he could, as to not wake the other boy. Once done, Jeno stood and searched the air for the package. It took some work due to the darkness surrounding him, but he spotted the beeping, red light floating down towards the bank of the water. Jeno jogged over to the area where it looked like it was going to land, reaching his hands over the water before it landed in it. Jeno returned back to land and opened the gift.

_ Thank you for taking care of our beloved. - District 11 _

Jeno stared at the writing, trying to block out his thoughts and emotions. Renjun and Zhen were both beloved by their district, it was more than he could say about his own. It broke Jeno’s heart to know that their district would possibly lose one of them. Jeno didn’t want to think of the possible outcome that  _ neither _ of them got to go home.

Shaking his thoughts away, Jeno opened the bag. Inside, he found a flower. It took him a second to figure out the type of flower, but then it hit him.

_ “What do you miss most about your district, Joohyun?” _

_ Joohyun smiled prettily, laughing as the crowd awed at her. “The flowers! My mother had a lovely flower garden in our lawn!” _

_ “Really? You do seem like the type of girl to like pretty flowers! What flower do you favor most?” _

_ Joohyun didn’t hesitate before answering, she really did have a soft spot in her heart for flowers. “Amancays.” _

Jeno stared down at the flower in between his fingers. The petals were colored a very dark yellow around the edges, with a splash of gold towards the part of the petals that connected to the stem. The color reminded him so much of Joohyun, the gold, honey like color reminded him of the way her hair shone underneath the sun. He lifted to flower to his nose, sniffing the sweet scent that made him remember Joohyun even more.

Jeno sank to the ground, cradling the flower delicately between his hands. Memories flashed through his mind╼ all the times Joohyun punched him to set him straight, swimming with her in the lake within district limits, the way she smiled as she pet stray animals, how she used to place flowers behind her ears, when she would sleep in bed with him because he had nightmares. Jeno remembered that she had nightmares too, but she would be too focused on being a strong role model for Jeno that she wouldn’t admit it, but even if she didn’t, he knew; he would climb into bed with her and wrap his arms around her, burying his face into her neck. He didn’t know exactly what it was that calmed her until he was older╼it was the way he smelled. As odd as it sounded, Jeno could understand as he felt the same way about her. 

District Two wasn’t as rich and fancy as One, they were known for their military presence and their weaponry, but they were still a rich, career district. So many of the people from their district wore putrid, heavy scented cologne or perfume, and it nearly made Jeno sick. Joohyun, on the other hand, bought her shampoo from a District Nine entrepreneur that came every once in a while. It smelled very lightly of honey mixed with a bit of a floral scent. When Jeno had turned seven, Joohyun had gotten him his own. It was similar to hers, floral but with a mix of peppermint. Ever since then, Jeno had bought that same shampoo every time the salesmen came to their district.

Jeno’s eyes slid open, he hadn’t realized they were even closed. He sniffed and wiped his eyes of stray tears. The Capitol probably loved him right now╼his relationships with Renjun, Zhen and Donghyuck were a plus, not to mention that he’d lost Joohyun and was now crying over her favorite flower in the moonlight. The thought made him laugh, Joohyun would’ve punched him for letting them have such a thought of him. Jeno laughter turned into more and more laughter until he was on his back, laughing as tears steadily flowed out of his eyes.

Jeno stared at the moon, longing for the nights that he and Joohyun would lie in her backyard, surrounded by flowers as they stared at the moon and enjoyed each others presence.

_ Don’t be stupid, Nono, _ she would’ve told him if she knew he was thinking about her death.  _ We all die, it’s okay. You’ll be with me some other time. Take care of the kid for now. _ Jeno sniffed again, tilting his head back on the ground to watch Zhen where she was sleeping. Zhen reminded him of Joohyun in some ways; strong, powerful, clinging onto their innocence for as long as they could, but in the world they lived in, it was hard and it showed. No matter what happened in the games, Jeno knew Zhen would be remembered as a symbol for district strength.

Jeno awoke to Renjun shaking him into consciousness. He lifted his head, startled, and tried to blink the drowsiness away from his eyes. “What? What’s going on?” Jeno’s eyes scanned their surroundings, looking for an impending threat.

“Nothing,” Renjun said quietly, running his fingers through Jeno’s hair and sitting down cross legged next to Jeno. “It’s the afternoon,” Renjun said. Jeno was quite shocked at that, he hasn’t slept into the afternoon since he was a toddler. “I wanted to let you sleep. You look nice when you sleep.”

“Nice?” Jeno laughed a little within his words, finding Renjun’s word choice amusing. Renjun punched him in the stomach and Jeno curled into himself, moaning and crying dramatically.

“Yeah, yeah,” Renjun bit out harmlessly, trying to get Jeno to stop making fun of him, but Jeno only became more dramatic.  _ “Okay!” _ Renjun laughed, shoving Jeno onto his back. Jeno layed there, giggling to himself behind his hand. Renjun huffed and dropped his head onto Jeno’s stomach a little harder than needed. Jeno slid his fingers against Renjun’s scalp and closed his eyes, basking in the warmth of the sun.

They lay like that for a while until a shadow drifted over Jeno’s face and blocked the sun. Jeno squinted his eyes open to find Zhen staring at him thoughtfully.

“You’re going to get sunburnt,” she informed him. Renjun snorted below them and his little sister shot him a childish glare.

“You’re right,” Jeno told her, sitting up and helping Renjun stand with him. The clearing they had spent the night in was far too dangerous to reside in now. It was nice to have the water, but they were surrounded by such a heavy tree line that it made them too vulnerable to attacks. “We should stay in the shade so we don’t get sunburnt, red isn’t my color.” Zhen hummed thoughtfully, eyes running over Jeno, then nodded.

“I think you’d look better in pink,” she informed him. Jeno bit back a smile and looked down at himself thoughtfully.

“Thank God summer is coming up then, I can finally use my pink sundress.” Zhen giggled and nodded happily. Jeno ruffled her hair -He loved doing that- and told her to gather her things quickly. When she left to do so, he turned and found Renjun watching him with melancholic eyes.

“What?” Jeno asked, voice coming out a bit weaker than he intended. Renjun shook his head and stepped into Jeno’s personal space, arms wrapping around his torso as his face buried into Jeno’s chest. Jeno returned the gesture, wrapping his arms around Renjun and resting his chin atop the shorter boy’s head.

“You’re good with her,” is all he said.

They had to part after a few seconds, which obviously dissatisfied them both, but they had to move.

Once they’d packed everything to their names, Jeno led the group west towards the sun.

“Why is the sky blue?”

“Because that’s color it reflects.”

Zhen hummed thoughtfully. “Why do dogs eat grass?”

“Because it helps them with stomach aches.”

“Really?” Jeno hummed in affirmation and she continued.

“Why do we dream?”

“It’s part of your REM cycle. No one really knows why we dream.”

“Why does it rain?”

“Because the clouds fill up with moisture and need to release it.”

Zhen turned to him quizzically. “That’s weird. Where do babies come from?”

“Big birds leave them on people’s doorsteps.” Zhen gasped, looking at him in awe.

“I came from a  _ bird?” _ Jeno nodded seriously and Zhen looked back to the ground in thought.

“So are the birds my parents?”

“No, your parents are your parents.” Zhen nodded, face serious and focused.

“I understand,” she said. “What does it feel like to have cooties?” Jeno snorted out a laugh and Renjun cackled in front of them.  _ “What?” _ Zhen whined petulantly, not happy that the two older boys were laughing at her. Out of the fifty questions she had asked Jeno in the past twenty minutes, he thinks this one is his favorite.

“It feels really good,” Jeno told her, much to her surprise. “It makes you want to be around that person all the time and it makes you want to protect them. It just means you like them.” Zhen looked overwhelmed taking this new information in and it made Jeno’s desire to laugh surface again, but he bit it back. “And it makes you kiss people.” Zhen’s head snapped up at him, face splattered with shock. Jeno nodded seriously, making a gagging noise.

“That’s so gross! My moms always try to kiss me, but I have to tell them that I’m twelve so I can’t get kissed by my moms anymore.” Zhen spoke as if she was running a business meeting, then looked at Jeno weirdly. “Don’t you,” she snuck a look at Renjun and whispered to Jeno.  _ “kiss _ my brother?” Jeno nodded, faux sadness on his face.

“It’s because your brother is obsessed with me.” Zhen gasped, covering her mouth and looking towards Renjun, affronted. Renjun turned over his shoulder and glared at Jeno, mouthing quite a few obscene words at him. Jeno looked at him with an innocent smile, which only made Renjun grumble.

“Gege, that’s not very nice,” she told him in a mothering tone. Jeno snorted and Renjun turned to swing at Jeno, but he dodged easily and gasped dramatically. Zhen joined in, staring at her brother as if offended.

“I’ll kick you down that hill, Jeno,” he threatened, turning back and walking in the same direction they had been for the past hour. Jeno slid Zhen a look, wiping fake sweat off of his forehead in fake relief. Zhen giggled and hopped forward to catch up to her big brother.

The three of them trailed through the trees, which had gotten significantly less dense as they moved further. They didn’t really know where they were heading, just that they wanted to put a good amount of distance between them and their last night’s camp site.

Their peaceful silence was shattered by the loud, nearly sonic boom sound of a cannon in the air. They froze for a minute, listening closely for sounds of a struggle near them or for the sound of another cannon. They waited in that same spot for nearly ten minutes, but they heard nothing else.

“Do you think it was Chenle?” Renjun whispered to Jeno. He thought about it; if Chenle had died then it would make sense as to why there was only one cannon, but Jeno didn’t want to get his hopes up, if that was even possible. There was also the possibility that Donghyuck and Seulgi hadn’t found each other, meaning it could’ve been one of them dying alone.

“I don’t know,” Jeno told Renjun, face grim. Jeno kept the three of them in the same place for a few more minutes, making sure that there were no signs of life near them. Jeno’s heart was racing faster than it ever had, he thinks maybe he’s going to have a heart attack. There’s a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, he can feel it weighing him down and it’s too much, it’s all too much. Something bad is going to happen he can feel it with every inch of his being, he can only imagine what it’s going to be. The hair on the back of his neck stands up abruptly in alert.

Jeno hears it before he sees it, the sound of a bow being pulled back before release. His eyes catch a flicker of sun reflecting on metal feet away from him, in front of Zhen. Jeno doesn’t think before he acts, he grabs Zhen by her arm and nearly throws her. She lands feet away, her stomach to the ground, at the same time the swift whizzing of an arrow flying through the air pierces Jeno’s ears.

Renjun’s instincts lead him to dash to Zhen’s side, covering her body with his protectively. A dull thud sounds beside them and Renjun turns his head to the sound.

_ Renjun thought there was something so serene about watching Jeno as he slept—he looks the same, but so different. He looks so at peace and carefree, a look Renjun never sees cross his features when he’s awake. It warms his heart, it makes him want a life with Jeno outside of this arena. _

Renjun’s mouth involuntarily opens. His scream overpowers the loud sound of another cannon sounding throughout the air. His brain tries to catch up with what’s happening, but he doesn’t react fast enough. Another arrow slices through the air, hitting it’s mark. The twenty first cannon sounded.

_ Zhen was raised in a poorer district, but the love her family gave her had no limits. She remembers nights in which she awoke to screams of people in the middle of the town being whipped, tortured. She would cuddle into Renjun those nights, burying herself in the comfort of her loving older brother. She remembers on her tenth birthday, her moms got her a small bag of chocolate cookies. There were only three in the bag, but Zhen knew that these cost three times the amount her own life was worth. She thanked her mothers through tears, endless words of gratitude spilling out of her mouth until they told her it was enough. She wonders how they’ll get on after the Games if neither her or Renjun make it back home. She hopes they remember moments like that, ones where she was so happy she was brought to tears. _

Zhen sobs, cowering her body away from her brother’s lifeless body and trying to put distance between her and the career approaching her.

“You know,” Chenle spoke to her, “I really thought it would be harder to kill them.” He began laughing and it sounded so terrifying to Zhen’s ears. His laughter sounded crazed, he sounded like how farmers back home sounded when they were stung by Tracker Jackers and began to hallucinate psychotically. “I thought—” Chenle cut himself off to laugh again, his eyes squeezing shut so hard that Zhen thinks she saw tears escape them. He soon catches his breath, speaking through pants and crazed giggles. “I thought it would be a little harder, but he,” Chenle nearly screamed the word, motioning back to Jeno’s dead body, “just shoved you out of my way! How pathetic is that?” he spits, throwing the bow he previously held to the ground. Zhen flinched and tried to back away further, looking around desperately for something to defend herself with. “What a fucking  _ idiot!” _ Chenle screamed into the air. His head snapped back down, eyes locking onto Zhen’s and that’s when Zhen realized there was something really, really wrong. Chenle’s eyes were red and his pupils were the size of the end of a sharpened pencil. His eye slightly twitched every few seconds that he didn’t move it and Zhen could see his hands shaking violently as he pulled a blade from somewhere on his body.

“You think you’ll live? What—just because you’re some helpless, little kid? I used to be a helpless, little kid, too,” Chenle, again, spit the words out at Zhen as if they were daggers and Zhen flinched away. “They don’t fucking  _ care, _ kid. They don’t care about any of us. If I wasn’t going to be the one to kill you, it would’ve just been someone else.” Chenle laughs, but it barely masks the sob behind it. Zhen’s lip quivers and she lets out a sob. She doesn’t want to die, she’ll do anything to live, to go back home to her parents.

Chenle rubs his eyes and makes a sound of frustration. “Come on, kid. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” Zhen shakes her head furiously, another sob escaping her mouth. She scoots further away as if that will save her. Chenle nears her and she watches, helpless as tears stream down her face. When he gets close enough that she can feel his body heat, she forces her eyes shut so she doesn’t see the knife before it ends her life.

Zhen screams when she feels the blade slash across her leg, backing away from the struggle in front of her. She finally finds the strength to scramble onto her feet, though her legs feel like jelly and she’s forced to lean on a tree as to not collapse.

Feet in front of her, Donghyuck and Chenle struggle to gain the upper hand on the other. Donghyuck has Chenle pinned beneath him, trying to get his hands around Chenle’s neck but the career is fighting back. With sudden movements, Chenle is able to knee Donghyuck in the stomach and land a punch onto his cheek. Donghyuck already looked worse for wear, bloody and disheveled, and those hits did nothing but worsen his condition.

Chenle shoved Donghyuck off of him, reached for his knife and moved to wound Donghyuck in any way possible. Donghyuck found his remaining strength to hold Chenle’s knife wielding hands back, but only inches away from his neck.

Donghyuck screamed and the sound brought Zhen’s instincts back into use. She surveyed the area, eyes getting caught on a nearby rock. She ran to retrieve it and, with all the strength she could manage, brought it down to strike Chenle over his head, then attempted to kick his body off of Donghyuck’s.

The reaction was immediate, Chenle’s body sagged slightly as crimson bled through his hair. His body jerked to the right with Zhen’s kick so that he was no longer face to face with Donghyuck. The knife slid from his hand, giving Donghyuck the opportunity to swipe it.

Zhen watched in horror as the knife sank into Chenle’s neck. She covered her ears, trying to block out the choking sounds of the career gagging on his own blood. She backed away, wanting to put space between herself and the dying boy. Donghyuck kicked Chenle’s body further away and moved away, watching the boy take his last, painful breath.

Zhen stared with wild eyes at the scene in front of her. She didn’t move when the sound of the cannon broke through the sky; neither did Donghyuck. Donghyuck was covered in blood—both his own and Chenle’s and possibly his sister’s. Neither of the remaining tributes moved an inch for minutes on end.

Zhen’s eyes darted fearfully as Donghyuck moved into a standing position. He stared at Chenle calmly, eerily. Zhen’s fight or flight response lit up like a beacon, even more so as she watched Donghyuck rip the bag of arrows off of Chenle’s corpse. Her feet carefully, quietly began to take small steps back, as not to be heard.

Donghyuck retrieved the bow from where Chenle had thrown it earlier. When he turned around, his eyes locked onto Zhen’s. Zhen swallowed, forcing her eyes to remain on him to watch his every move.

Both of their heartbeats could be heard from miles away. Donghyuck pulled an arrow and set the end into the wire of the bow. Zhen’s feet began taking bigger steps back.

“I’m sorry,” he spoke to her, so many emotions playing across the features of his face. He looks years older than he did the last time she’d seen him; smiling, hugging Jeno and subtly telling him that he loved him.

Donghyuck pulled his arrow back at the same time Zhen turned her back and broke out into a dead sprint.

The sound of the twenty third cannon pulsated throughout the arena, throughout the districts, the Capitol. 

  
  


_ The doors opened slowly, in Donghyuck’s opinion. He limped inch by inch as they opened as slow as molasses. He shoved through them when the gap was wide enough, but winced as he knocked his injured shoulder onto the wood. He looked around the room, searching for the others. “Jisung?” he called out, stepping further inside. There was a sound of movement to the left of the room and Donghyuck turned to it, smiling wider than he had in days. “Sung,” he called again, but Jisung stood still. He was facing a window, head tilted down as he watched people from their district walk about. Donghyuck shifted where he stood, waiting for Jisung to make a move. _

_ When Jisung turned to face him, he looked at Donghyuck with such… animosity that Donghyuck could feel it pierce his own heart. Jisung walks past him, not coming within a foot of Donghyuck and he watches him go. _

_ Before Jisung walks through the door, he turns to Donghyuck with tears veiled over his eyes. “I don’t even know who you are,” he tells him, voice sounding ghostly and empty. Donghyuck watches as Jisung walks through the doors and disappears from his line of sight. _

**Author's Note:**

> wow so this is the /longest/ fic/oneshot ive ever written and i am really so proud of the time and work i put into this work because im beyond happy with the outcome of my writing :D  
> a special thanks to one of my best friends that betad this for me :(( i love you so so so much hehe thank you so much for helping me out so much with this baby :((  
> once my author reveal is posted, i will be attaching a playlist i made for this work and will be able to answer potential questions that you leave here, ill also be linking my personal curiouscat for you to leave anonymous comments in !! :^) thank you all very very very much for reading this!! im excited for my reveal and i really hope that this experience betters and furthers my writing!! :D  
> i truly hope u enjoyed :D <3 thank you for ur support!!!


End file.
